M390 super steel?

Flatlander1963

Flatlander1963

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Seems Benchmade is coming out with a new framelock with M390 and they are calling it a new super steel.

Anybody have any comments, experiance, or general knowledge of M390.

I've never heard of it (par for the course:p) so interested to hear something about it.

A google search didn't really turn up much.

Thanks g
 
I only saw it here so far. http://www.jatagan.eu/en/make-a-knife/m390-pm/

If you look at the priced it's certainly priced like a supersteel. (you can switch currencies in the upper right)

Google translate came up with this:

Steel M390PM is stainless steel produced by powder metallurgy. Steel in the calcined state of well-machining, after heat treatment has excellent resistance to wear, easily polished. Steel is a highly homogeneous structure with very fine carbides, after proper heat treatment has excellent resistance to wear and tear - durability of the blade (greater than 19 573 / D2). Steel has high toughness (resistance to breakage).

Composition: 1.90% C, 0.70% Si, 0.30% Mn, 20.0% Cr, 1.0% Mo, 4.0% V 0.6% V

Heat treatment: austenitizace in a protective atmosphere from 1070 to 1150 ° C in a vacuum from 1120 to 1200 ° C. Hardness in turbidity after 60 -62 HRC during cooling in air.
After hardening is recommended deep freeze

Tempering: 150 to 400 ° C, the resulting hardness of 56-58 HRC

Maximum wear resistance achieved after quenching from 1150 ° C and 2 + podmražení tempering cycles at 540 ° C, 58-62 HRC (Attention, slightly reducing the corrosion resistance).
 
Well that does sound like a super steel. Fine carbine structure and 20% cromium. That may be more rust resistent than H1. Interesting!! Since Google translated, what was the country of origin btw?

Thanks g
 
The steels country of origin is Austria, but the text came from the same webpage that I posted which is for a shop in the Czech Republic.
 
Bohler-Uddeholm(result of merger of Austrian ohler and Swedish Uddeholm) makes quite a few PM tool steels, of many types, some are more wear resistant, others more shock resistant. M390 is also known as Isomatrix. I've seen few custom knives on the internet from Isomatrix.

Here's a list of the Bohler-Uddeholm PM steels.
 
It's the same steel as Latrobe's Duratech 20CV. It's a good steel, tough ( for a high carbide fraction stainless steel) and wear resistant. I wouldn't put it in the S90V /ZDP 189 class for wear resistance, but it can be above S30V depending on the hardness it's run at.

It's another steel that wouldn't work out real well if it didn't use PM technology.
 
Hey, they're exactly the same huh? I've had them both in steel charts forever, never realizing that...Thanks for the tip ;)
 
Flatlander1963 said:
Well that does sound like a super steel. Fine carbine structure and 20% cromium. That may be more rust resistent than H1. Interesting!! Since Google translated, what was the country of origin btw?

Thanks g
Click to expand...

H1 is rust proof steel.It can be left in salt water for years and not rust.It is the only rust proof steel on the market right now,and spyderco is the only production company that uses it at the moment.
 
Flatlander1963 said:
Well that does sound like a super steel. Fine carbine structure and 20% cromium. That may be more rust resistent than H1. Interesting!! Since Google translated, what was the country of origin btw?

Thanks g
Click to expand...

my understanding was that in H1, carbon was replaced with nitrogen, but 20CV and M390 still have some carbon.
 
M390 is VERY good stuff. It is better than S30V, and is NOT the same as Duratech 20CV.

Here's the chemistry:

C: 1.90%
Si: 0.70%
Mn: 0.30%
Cr: 20%
Mo: 1.00%
V: 4%
W: 0.60%

(I was looking into importing a few bars from Bohler when I heard that Crucible went bankrupt).

Another benefit that isn't mentioned is that it is much cleaner than CPM 154. Bohler calls it "microclean" and it can be polished to a true mirror. It is made in Europe, the closest thing Bohler stocks in the US is called Elmax -both steels use Bohler's 3rd generation PM process. Good stuff! :thumbup:
 
flatgrinder said:
M390 is VERY good stuff. It is better than S30V, and is NOT the same as Duratech 20CV.

Here's the chemistry:

C: 1.90%
Si: 0.70%
Mn: 0.30%
Cr: 20%
Mo: 1.00%
V: 4%
W: 0.60%

(I was looking into importing a few bars from Bohler when I heard that Crucible went bankrupt).

Another benefit that isn't mentioned is that it is much cleaner than CPM 154. Bohler calls it "microclean" and it can be polished to a true mirror. It is made in Europe, the closest thing Bohler stocks in the US is called Elmax -both steels use Bohler's 3rd generation PM process. Good stuff! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I just looked at the datasheets of both the Duratech 20CV and the Bohler M390.
They read almost identical. :confused:
Bohler M390. http://www.bucanada.ca/files/M390DE.pdf
Duratech 20CV. http://www.matweb.com/search/datasheet.aspx?matguid=1d494a5db62a49ebbbc1b2fc52f184af&ckck=1

M390 Duratech 20CV
C: 1.90% C: 1.90%
Si: 0.70% Si: 0.30%
Mn: 0.30% Mn: 0.30%
Cr: 20% Cr: 20%
Mo: 1.00% Mo: 1.00%
V: 4% V: 4%
W: 0.60% W: 0.60%

Silicon is the only difference I can find in the makeup of these two.
 
if you go to the Uddeholm website, you can see all the high tech steels & things they make & are involved with...
 
There's quite a few of them :) Uddeholm canada, uddeholm australia and uddehol I dunno where, bucorp.com...
 
M390 have similar properties as RWL 34, but RWL 34 have slightly better edge retention. I tested this steel by cutting to brass rod, damage of edge after 90 cuts is illustrate on pictures 4. and 5. at http://www.knife.cz/Knifecz/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/381/ItemID/238/Default.aspx or M390 top, RWL 34 bottom (magnification 40x)
obr3_1m.jpg

obr4_1m.jpg
 
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